Spectrum sharing is thought of as one of the most viable ways of improving the amount of spectrum available to wireless networks and other radio devices for conducting wireless communications. But regulations hold that radios using shared spectrum in a permitted area must not cause impermissible interference in an adjacent protected area.
Spectrum is a finite resource and readily available spectrum is becoming scarce as the growth of wireless services increases. A spectrum access system (SAS) (also referred to as a spectrum management platform) may be used to manage the access to spectrum by the allocation of spectrum access permissions to wireless devices and networks. In many cases, the allocation of spectrum access permissions occurs in real-time or almost real-time following the receipt of a request for spectrum access from a radio device.
Conventional spectrum access systems are statically configured for a specific regulatory domain in which the radios managed by the spectrum access system are located and/or for the specific type(s) of radios being managed, such as TV white spaces (TVWS) radios. For example, a regulatory requirement to separate a particular radio service or class of radio devices from another may exist, such as separating broadband services and radio astronomy sites. The separation may be in terms of time, frequency and geography, or in the ability to limit RF emissions as a function of channel adjacency (or frequency proximity) between radio services. To address the particulars of each situation, each spectrum access system is constructed for a specific situation. As a result, detailed software modifications or enhancements may be needed as regulatory requirements evolve. Also, to adapt the system to a different regulatory domain, the spectrum access system may need to be redesigned. In other words, each spectrum access system is purpose built in a customized manner for each instance. This approach is not efficient, scalable or extensible.
In one example, a spectrum access system used to manage spectrum in one part of the world (e.g., the United States) maybe be very different than a spectrum access system in a different part of the world (e.g., in an Asian or European country) since the two are driven by the need to satisfy dissimilar local regulatory requirements.